Kawasaki Diesel Motorcycles

- Kawasaki based diesel motorcycles -

The Kawasaki KLR 670cc Diesel Motorcycle (More here)

The HDT-RMCS motorcycle is a collaborative venture between Hayes Diversified Technologies (HDT) of California and RMCS to develop a production diesel motorcycle. The engine was designed at RMCS and is being produced by HDT. Development has been undertaken jointly by HDT and RMCS. The bike uses a Kawasaki KLR 650 rolling chassis, modified for military use. Current status of the project is that pre-production bikes have been fully trialled and evaluated by the US Marine Corps. As a result of these trials, the USMC has now accepted the bike for service, and production is expected to commence next year. USMC currently has gasoline KLR650s in service and all these will ultimately be converted for the diesel engine. The UK MoD currently has several bikes under test, and other NATO armies, including France and Germany, have expressed serious interest. We are now looking at other applications, both motorcycle and non-motorcycle, for this engine technology. However, there are NO immediate plans to offer the motorcycle to civilian customers, as we are presently fully committed in satisfying military orders. It is possible that a civilian version of the bike will be made available eventually but this the cost would be about 20% up from a standard bike. For the forseeable future, while the Military are swallowing the cost of this machine, they are unlikely to want to see it sold cheaply to the general public.

Based on a Kawasaki KLR650 the current version of the bike sports a 670cc engine is designed to run on either diesel or aviation kerosene. Some parts from the original engine, such as the generator, have been used on the new machine in order to save money but essentially this motorcycles engine is completely new. This makes this machine completely unique, it being the first purpose built diesel motorcycle engine ever built.

The new KLR Diesel military motorcycle.

The Kawabota D600 Diesel Motorcycle

This Motorcycle was posted to me and first put onto our Facebook page before going up here. Kawasaki fitted with a BSA A10 gearbox and, of course, a Kubota 600 cc engine. Save these shots to view in a bigger size. Thanks for submitting!

Bet it's economical to ride!

Nice painwork all over on this bike.

If you live north of the border keep you eye's peeled for this motorcycle. Or maybe it's in Germany?

Honda John's Kawasaki Yanmar Diesel Motorcycle

My forum name is Honda John, but I go by....John. My first project was based on a wrecked KZ400 that my friend picked up as a parts bike. I traded him a box of carbs and got a solid roller, minus engine, wiring loom, tank, and seat (all the easy and cheap parts to replace). I bought a clone of a Yanmar L70 from Ebay, welded in some extra frame lugs, and mouted it on a chunk of heavy duty C-channel that I milled down.

As a recent college grad with no money, and since I wasn't planning to put it on the road anyway, I didn't use a transmission or stretch the frame in order to keep the cost down (the fact that the frame is twisted and the rear swingarm is seized helped too). I installed a massive custom rear sprocket and used a centrifugal clutch on the output shaft. Its great for messing around in parking lots and rides like an old Rupp mini bike, but it can't do hills at all. I will definetely figure out a gearbox next time around.
Anyway, I'm happy I stumbled on this forum. Its good to know I'm not the only person out there with too much free time!

Shots of both Johns Clutch and rear sprocket. Thanks John!

 

2002 KLR Diesel 418cc - $4000 (seen on craigslist in Aug 09)

I have no way of knowing if this bike sold. But, with its good looks it is proving to be something of an inspiration to other builders located on our forum.

"This is a home built diesel KLR. I'm using a Yanmar clone 418cc diesel engine, with a Comet 40 series convert/drive. It's both electric and pull start. At this moment, it only has 375 miles on it and still in the break in period. The top speed is about 65MPH with an average of 130MPG. I've run it on bio diesel and regular diesel. Both seem to suit it just fine. This is an experimental bike and sold as such."

Thundercougarfalconbird Punsen Kawasaki GPZ900 conversion

Checkout more on this bike on the forum! And yes, that is the builders nick name on there!

Brett's 1984 Kawasaki Conversion.

I'm grateful to Brett for forwarding on details of another creation (he has also built the orange lombardini dnepr further up the page before this). Originally it was a 1984 kawasaki 454 ltd frame. It now has a Winsun 22 hp 812cc diesel engine with “automatic” (CVT) style transmission. Twin tank biodiesel/ svo system including pump, inline veg heater and switching valves.

The gearing as she was set up for the client in Utah: Top speed- 72 mph, 138 mpg consistently.

There are frame modifications, dual batteries, custom paint, "Harley" style dash which hides the fuel pump and inline heater, also keeps the veg temp gauge and switch, changed from a belted final to chain for ease and range of gear changes.

Brett builds custom bikes and is based in Portland. You can contact him via the forum. His Nick is 'Roverthetop'.

Kawasaki/Peugeot

Here is a great looking machine fitted with a peugeot engine.

I've owned a cople of Kwakers in my time and this looks even better.

DieselFighter

Karl Hofschaller from Bavarian has built this amazing looking machine. If I'm correct it has a Gulf engine and the frame is Kawasaki GPZ 1000 RX

A Gulf engined Kawasaki that really looks very desirable. More information here.

Kawasaki Diesel Bike using Yanmar Clone 406cc engine.

 

The following text was used to describe this bike when it went up for sale on eBay. The bike was originally located in North Garden, VA, United States.

"This is a diesel conversion motorcycle built from the frame up using a 1982 Kawasaki 550 LTD. It is titled as a Kawasaki 550 LTD. The original frame was modified to accept a DEK 10 HP air cooled diesel (Yanmar clone) and a Comet 500 CV belt drive transmission-jackshaft assembly. This involved removing the forward half of the engine cradle on the stock frame and building a larger cradle to accept the new components. A professional welding shop made all welds. The completed frame was primed and painted using a high-heat ceramic-epoxy spray paint. The front forks were rebuilt using new seals with the addition of fork boots to keep out road dust. The steering stem bearings were removed, cleaned, and repacked; the swing arm received similar treatment. Brakes are original, with the front master cylinder and caliper being rebuilt prior to reinstallation. The wiring harness was custom built (one circuit at a time) and mapped-out for future reference. All lights except the headlight are LED (brake/tail) or LED-ready (turn). The seat pan was custom-cut from the original pan and professionally upholstered. The gas tank (purchased from Coyote-Gear) is mounted rear of the seat; it is a spun aluminum DOT-approved 3-gallon tank with a bottom main outlet and a separate return. There is a fuel filter and an associated cut-off valve rear of the engine’s injector intake pipe. The engine can be turned-off via this valve or by completely rolling off the throttle (which shuts off the fuel injector pump). The exhaust system features a custom-made header and flange (again professionally welded) and a chrome megaphone muffler. The bike has a manual (rope) start and an electric starter (supplied as stock on engine, I have not wired this in). Engine has a compression release for easy starts. The charging system is rated at 150 Watts. This bike is fully functional. Purchaser might choose to make further refinements, for example: selecting a larger rear sprocket, connecting the electric starter, etc. This is a good bike for a person who likes to tinker. Similar designs have attained 140 mpg and 55-60 mph; I have tested this bike on my driveway but have no high speed data or miles per gallon data. Included with this bike is a copy of my journal documenting all aspects of the project (e.g. costs, material sources, schematics), a CD containing photographs taken over the course of the project, and a second (commercially purchased) CD with extensive information on diesel bike design, making bio-diesel fuel, etc. This bike represents the culmination of 2 years of design and research and several hundred hours of build-time; it could well serve as your entry to the world of diesel motorcycling and design. I built it purely for the challenge of creating a diesel bike and never intended to keep it once finished." Bikes VIN is: jkakzfc11cb505599.